Online Reporter
Stephen Mpofu
There are three basic keys — call them groups of people — that exist as geneses for every country’s brave new futures.
That reality emerged at a career guidance meeting at Usher high school in Matabeleland South province before the end of the second school term on Thursday this week.
The event had learners from St Columba’s and Usher High schools interacting with professionals from various sectors and tertiary institutions including representatives from Nust, Bulawayo Polytechnic, Zimpapers, the Zimbabwe Institution of Engineers (Matabeleland Chapter), Adullam Transformation Centre Coaching and Mentoring Institution and United Bulawayo Hospitals who gave advice to the students on how to navigate their future and that of our motherland Zimbabwe as should happen elsewhere on the continent.
Schools were urged at the meeting to strengthen career guidance to help learners identify their strengths, explore opportunities and make informed choices about their future careers.
In essence, teachers should be instrumental in preparing students for national developmental roles in society by identifying and augmenting students’ subject strengths instead of shepherding the students mbombela-wise to no career destination.
It is no surprise therefore that students lacking career guidance end up indulging in criminal activity or taking drugs or alcoholic beverages as solaces for consolation.
In these days of increasing drug and substance abuse, students and former students with no proper career guidance are increasingly becoming ready markets for dealers in drugs in that way rendering our future and that of our country bleak instead of being rendered brave by strengths in the young generations.
But not only teachers must play a role in developing destiny-shapers, parents must also be supportive to roles played by educators.
But, alas, what do we see parents and guardians doing instead of lending a hand to schools in sharpening the futures of their charges.
Specifically, how many parents supervise their day school students do homework after school.
One school expert no doubt put it more succinctly when he said that some parents and guardians lump blame on teachers when presented with poor term end results of their charges when they themselves put no effort in improving the performance of their children by ensuring that the offspring do their homework or have time for studying during school holidays to improve their performance instead of playing around.
A disturbing report on local radio a few days ago claimed that a student did not receive an end of term school report because a non working husband squandered money provided by his working wife to pay fees for his wife in the process, jeopardising the child’s future.
If that report does not cap the need for parents to help schools shape destinies for our country’s brave new futures through educated and guide children nothing will.
